Federal help is coming, but Milwaukee is not on pace to meet goal of replacing all lead pipes in 20 years

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- For Kristin Wilber, Christmas came early Thursday. She said a foul smell that had permeated the south side block where she lives had dissipated after crews replaced a water main a couple doors down from her house.

"It was worse than smelling God-forbidden dog doo-doo," Wilber claimed.

However, that wasn't the only work crews were doing outside a home near the intersection of S. 35th St. and W. Forest Home Ave. Workers also replaced a lead lateral, which has become a standard accompaniment of road projects and water main replacements in the city.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson's administration has set a goal of replacing all 70,000 of the city's known remaining lead service lines within the next 20 years.

Wilber said the idea of her neighbors having their lead lateral removed was cause for celebration. More than 20 years ago, she said one of her daughters tested positive for elevated lead levels. She attributed the result to lead pipes and lead-based paint in an old West Allis home in which the family had lived.

"They said if [her lead levels] went up any higher, it could cause her to have mental issues or, academically, she could not develop like she was supposed to," Wilber said. "As a parent, it's very scary. I'm just glad that somebody is finally taking notice."

According to numbers posted by Milwaukee Water Works, the city has replaced 6,321 lead service lines since 2017. As of October 13, the city had replaced 901 lead laterals this year; its goal for 2023 is to replace 1,200 service lines. 

The city has set goals of 2,200 lead line replacements in 2024, then 2,700 in 2025. According to Water Works data that date back to 2017, the most replacements in one year was exactly 1,000 in 2019.

A report recently put out by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, a nonpartisan think tank, outlined the challenges communities across Wisconsin face in replacing their lead laterals.

The report noted a flood of federal dollars through the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help, but there are other hurdles communities must clear. A big one is labor.

"You can't double the pace or triple the pace with the same workforce you had when you were only doing 1,000 per year," Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) noted.

Baldwin said the infrastructure funding could also help in that regard because it also includes money for programs aimed at building up a new wave of construction workers.

"There are apprenticeship programs, training programs," Baldwin said. 

Rob Henken, president of the policy forum, noted the infrastructure law also includes lots of money for road and building projects; those will also draw from that same undersized pool of current construction workers.

"Clearly, the construction workforce, which includes the workforce that would do this work on the lead lateral replacements, is lacking workers," Henken said. "And we're in a historically tight labor market."

Henken said the forum was specifically encouraged by the idea of programs aimed at getting more people of color involved in the trades. Even if that happened, though, it wouldn't guarantee Milwaukee meets its 20-year deadline for replacing lead pipes.

Should the city make a leap to 2,700 replacements in a year, that number multiplied by 20 would amount to 54,000.

"Having federal dollars to provide a boost is certainly a good thing," Henken said. "But is that going to solve the workforce challenges overnight? Most likely not."

The federal infrastructure law, which President Joe Biden signed two years ago Wednesday, will contain $1.2 trillion of spending spread out over 10 years.

Next year's funding will include $74.1 million for lead pipe replacements in Wisconsin. Of that amount, Milwaukee will get $30 million. According to the policy forum's analysis, the state's biggest city accounts for 44% of the known remaining lead laterals.

Most research has found lead-based paint, found in houses built before 1978, is a bigger source of lead poisoning than drinking water. Still, no amount of lead is safe, and it's especially dangerous for kids younger than six years old, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS).

Milwaukee was spurred into action seven years ago, when a 2016 DHS report found 10.8% of kids tested in Milwaukee tested positive for elevated lead levels.

Wilber said, given her own experience, replacing lead laterals should remain a top federal, state and city priority.

"That's our future," she said. "I mean, right there, they're carrying on our legacy."

If you live in Milwaukee, you can click here to see if your property still has lead service lines.